The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 1 — Section 366

Vere. 20-26,-Authority aml influence, On the deposition of Shebna, Eliakiru was 11ppointed prefect, clothed with the robe and invested with the keys of office; hence- forth he should shut and open, should appoint and depose according to his good pleasure. We look at- I. 'l'.im EX.0ELLEN0E 011' BUMAN .AUTHORITY, 1. le satisfies a craving which is both broad and deep. Doubtless his succession to the high office vacated hy Sheboa brought great gratification to the heart of Eliakim. Men covet office, and the authority which it brings, Many meek and lowly minded ones, indeed, there are who have no such thirst of spirit; but, on the other hand, there are very many who profoundly desire and exceedingly enjoy it. The craving is both broad and general; its satisraction, conse- quently, brings an intense and a widespread delight. 2. It conduces to order and to all those activities and pleasures of which order is the first condition. 3. It enables its holder to confer benefits (1) on those whom he is most desirous of serving-" a glorious throne to his father's house," a source of strength and succour to all those related to him; and also (2) on those whom he should account it a privilege to sen-e -he can be "a father to the inhabitants," etc., a source of blessing to his fellow- countrymen; (3) on those who are specially deserving-a man in authority can admit to office those who are capable and honourable, while he can ex.elude those who are incapable and undeserving (ver. 22). On the other hand, it has to be remembered that authority (1) often injures its possessor by making him selfish or self-sufficient; (2) is often grossly and pitifully abused ; (3) is often suddenly and unexpectedly withdrawn, plunging him who holds it into humiliation and distress (ver. 25). II. T.aE GREATER EXCELLENCE OF HOLY INFLUENCE. Our Lord gave his apostles promise of power; but he distinctly told them that such power would lie, not in the exercise of authority, but in the exertion of influence (Mark x. 42-45). They were to be commissioned to deliver the most vitalizing and transforming truth, and to live a life purified aml ennobled by that truth; their utterance and their action together would have a most decisive influence on individual men and on society at large. We inherit the privilege which the Master conferred on them. The truth they taught we teach; the life they lived we live. And this Divine, this redeeming, this everlasting wisdom, thus revealed from God, and thus manifested through us, is a far gre11.ter and a far mightier thing than the exercise of any human authority whatever. For by their attitude towards it men determine their destiny; by it they stand or fall (Matt. xxi. 44; John iii. 36; 2 Cor. ii. 15, 16). It" opens, and no man can shut; it shuts, and no man can open." It is not only a mightier, but also a more blessed thing. This holy influence, thus exerted by the wise and good, through lip and life, (1) shuts men out of evils into the power of which none can thenceforth draw them; (2) opens the gate into kingdoms from which none can exclude them-those of Divine wisdom, of holi- ness, of usefulness, of heavenly joy and glory; (3) has a salutary and elevating effect upon the heart of him who wields it. It blesses hiru that gives as much as him that takes. l. Only the minority among mankind can possibly exercise authority; it is to a small fraction only that it will prove a blessing ; and from all of these it will soon be removed by the fickleness of man or by the lapse of time. 2. But it is open to every child of man to exert a holy influence; this will confer a true, spiritual, undying good on others, and will leave a lasting, inward blessing on the giver. It is far the better of the two.-C. • Vers. 1, 2.-Ill-timed joy. The "valley of vision" is, without doubt, Jerusalem, though Mr. Birks thinks Samaria may be meant. The Prophet Isaiah speaks thus poetically of it as the place where he had his visions. Now he sees the people hurrying, in great excitement, on to the flat roofs of the city, to watch the gathering hosts of Sennacherib's army. The attitude of the people surprised him, At such a time, when pestilence decimated the inhabitants, the leading citizens had fled to secure their personal safety, and the enemy was at the very door, he looked for humiliation before God, or at least the calmness of a noble courage; but alas I even in such an hour it was a" tumultuous city, a joyous city." I. Joy IS ILL-'l'llllED WHEN IT EXPRESSES SELF-SECURITY. Foolish notions of the impreO'nability of their city possessed the Jews, in spite of the fact that it had been taken~ Self-reliance blinded them to the elements of weakness in themselves, and tu  366 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. [en. xxn.1-25.